TCL sets up AI research center in Poland

Consumer electronics giant TCL Corp has set up a research and development center in Poland with a focus on artificial intelligence, as part of a broader push to expand its presence in the European market.

The R&D center will focus on AI-related sectors based on deep learning, such as computer vision, natural language processing and big data analysis, as well as carrying out cooperation with Warsaw University of Technology and the University of Warsaw to introduce top scientific research talent and strengthen the application of technical achievements in related industries, says Bartosz Biskupski, general manager of TCL's European R&D center.

Yan Xiaolin, chief technology officer of TCL, says, "We plan to recruit about 100 to 150 employees for the R&D center within the next two or three years, and use the R&D resources not only in Poland, but also in Eastern Europe."

Yan says the center will be mainly engaged in three sectors - AI and big data, next-generation semiconductor display technology and new materials, and intelligent manufacturing and the industrial internet - adding that this is of strategic significance in TCL's global expansion and will further enhance TCL's capacity in technology innovation.

TCL currently has nearly 8,000 technical research staff members, 26 R&D centers and more than 10 joint laboratories around the world. Expenditure on R&D reached 4.72 billion yuan ($691 million; 595.8 million euros; ￡534.7 million) last year, according to the company.

Apart from the European R&D center, the home appliance giant has set up a research institute in Silicon Valley in the United States, and R&D centers in Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xi'an, Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. It has teamed up with tech heavyweights such as Google, Amazon and Baidu in the field of AI.

According to IHS Technology, TCL shipped 23.8 million television sets around the world last year, an increase of 15.9 percent year-on-year. It ranked among the top three brands in the global LCD television market, with a market share of 10.9 percent in 2017.

Dong Min, general manager at Beijing consultancy All View Cloud, says TCL has put an emphasis on the European market, and it is necessary to establish an R&D center and manufacturing bases in overseas markets to boost local sales.